The Prudent Leader: How to Make Wise Decisions Under Pressure Before Your Career Pays the Price

1 00:00:00,000 - > 00:00:03,760 Terry Baylor: The situation that you're going through may have 2 00:00:03,760 - > 00:00:07,280 nothing to do with your destiny, but your response to that 3 00:00:07,280 - > 00:00:10,000 situation has everything to do with your destiny. 4 00:00:10,000 - > 00:00:12,560 Ja'Quan Lavender: Character reveals the real you, so as 5 00:00:12,560 - > 00:00:16,645 water reflects the face, so your heart reveals the real man. If 6 00:00:16,645 - > 00:00:19,445 you have any character defects, check your heart because you may 7 00:00:19,445 - > 00:00:23,285 have a heart defect, which means there must must be something in 8 00:00:23,285 - > 00:00:25,525 your heart that you must not be aware of. 9 00:00:25,525 - > 00:00:27,285 Ralph Owens: Welcome to the Leadership Sovereignty Podcast, 10 00:00:27,810 - > 00:00:30,610 the show that helps professionals get promoted, help 11 00:00:30,610 - > 00:00:33,890 expand their influence, and lead with confidence. I'm your host, 12 00:00:33,890 - > 00:00:36,690 Ralph Owens, chief information officer in the financial 13 00:00:36,690 - > 00:00:40,850 services industry, joined by my cohost, Terry Baylor, the CEO of 14 00:00:40,850 - > 00:00:44,105 a health care tech startup. Together, we've spent decades 15 00:00:44,105 - > 00:00:47,625 building teams, transforming organizations, and coaching 16 00:00:47,625 - > 00:00:51,225 leaders through the moments that defined their careers. This is 17 00:00:51,225 - > 00:00:54,665 Your Competitive Edge. Now let's dive into today's episode. 18 00:00:55,945 - > 00:00:58,880 All right. Welcome back to the next episode of the Leadership 19 00:00:58,880 - > 00:01:02,000 Sovereignty Podcast. JaQuan, last week we walked through your 20 00:01:02,000 - > 00:01:05,120 origin story. It was incredible. Today, we want to go a little 21 00:01:05,120 - > 00:01:06,560 bit deeper into your philosophy. 22 00:01:06,560 - > 00:01:09,680 You know, JaQuan, the word prudent is in everything that 23 00:01:09,680 - > 00:01:12,945 you do now. Where did that word come from, and what does that 24 00:01:12,945 - > 00:01:13,745 actually mean to you? 25 00:01:13,745 - > 00:01:16,545 Ja'Quan Lavender: So prudent comes from the bible, King 26 00:01:16,545 - > 00:01:20,225 Solomon, when he was talking to his son, and he talked about the 27 00:01:20,225 - > 00:01:26,160 prudent man. So the word prudent means to be wise, conscious, to 28 00:01:26,160 - > 00:01:30,240 be able to be discreet, which is another word for discretion. So 29 00:01:30,240 - > 00:01:33,920 it's someone that considers the consequences and kind of the 30 00:01:33,920 - > 00:01:36,400 risk before he takes them. So he's very careful and 31 00:01:36,400 - > 00:01:37,520 thoughtful. Mhmm. 32 00:01:37,520 - > 00:01:37,840 Mhmm. 33 00:01:37,840 - > 00:01:39,915 Ralph Owens: That's good. That's good. That's good. A lot of 34 00:01:39,915 - > 00:01:43,835 people confuse being smart with being prudent. You know, what's 35 00:01:43,835 - > 00:01:45,915 what's the difference, and and why does that matter? 36 00:01:45,915 - > 00:01:47,275 Why should it matter for leaders? 37 00:01:47,275 - > 00:01:48,955 Ja'Quan Lavender: I would say when you say smart, the first 38 00:01:48,955 - > 00:01:51,530 word that comes to my mind is intelligent. You're very 39 00:01:51,690 - > 00:01:55,690 intelligent, you're clever. When you are prudent, you're very 40 00:01:55,850 - > 00:02:00,570 conscious because the Bible says that a prudent man foresees evil 41 00:02:00,570 - > 00:02:05,370 or hides himself, but the simple pass So on and are if I was to 42 00:02:05,370 - > 00:02:08,785 foresee the evil, I took a consideration and say, oh, I 43 00:02:08,785 - > 00:02:12,465 don't wanna go that way. So I'm conscious and I consider those 44 00:02:12,465 - > 00:02:16,225 consequences what led me to not going down that road. Now since 45 00:02:16,225 - > 00:02:19,905 the young man was naive, he went down that road and then he faced 46 00:02:19,905 - > 00:02:20,945 the consequences. 47 00:02:20,945 - > 00:02:24,770 So I think a prudent man is very more, 48 00:02:25,010 - > 00:02:25,170 Terry Baylor: of 49 00:02:25,170 - > 00:02:27,650 Ja'Quan Lavender: course he's wise, but he's more thoughtful. 50 00:02:27,650 - > 00:02:28,050 Ralph Owens: He 51 00:02:28,050 - > 00:02:31,010 Ja'Quan Lavender: thinks, he's using his his his mind. He's not 52 00:02:31,010 - > 00:02:33,570 just doing, he's actually thinking. 53 00:02:33,570 - > 00:02:36,815 Ralph Owens: Mhmm. I love that. I love that. I love that. It 54 00:02:36,815 - > 00:02:40,415 makes me think about the stewardship of your mind, right, 55 00:02:40,415 - > 00:02:43,055 instead of just going off of everything that you feel, you 56 00:02:43,055 - > 00:02:45,855 know, taking the time to actually think through your 57 00:02:45,855 - > 00:02:47,535 decisions before you actually act. 58 00:02:47,890 - > 00:02:49,170 Is that is that about right? 59 00:02:49,170 - > 00:02:52,530 Ja'Quan Lavender: Yes, sir. Always take and again, I teach 60 00:02:52,530 - > 00:02:56,370 these young guys a sober mind. So if I have a sober mind, that 61 00:02:56,370 - > 00:02:59,650 means I'm clear headed. So once I'm clear headed, I'm able to 62 00:02:59,650 - > 00:03:02,130 think. That's why I always say a prudent man should always have a 63 00:03:02,130 - > 00:03:02,610 sober mind. 64 00:03:03,345 - > 00:03:05,985 Ralph Owens: That's good. That's good. That's good. Good. Any 65 00:03:05,985 - > 00:03:06,785 thoughts there, Terry? 66 00:03:06,785 - > 00:03:10,705 Terry Baylor: I always go back to this. Say guard your heart 67 00:03:10,705 - > 00:03:14,545 with all diligence, because out of it, right? So as I really 68 00:03:14,865 - > 00:03:18,560 started to dig into that, really what it's talking about is guard 69 00:03:18,560 - > 00:03:22,400 your mind with all diligence, because what you expose yourself 70 00:03:22,400 - > 00:03:26,560 to, if you scrolling and all the stuff that's coming up on your 71 00:03:26,560 - > 00:03:31,065 scroll is stuff that's distracting, it's because that's 72 00:03:31,065 - > 00:03:34,745 what you've been lending your attention to that, right? So 73 00:03:34,745 - > 00:03:37,545 folks have tried to show me stuff on Instagram, and they 74 00:03:37,545 - > 00:03:39,625 were like, Man, I don't know why this is coming up on my feed. 75 00:03:39,625 - > 00:03:41,545 I'm thinking, I know why it's coming up on your feed. 76 00:03:45,350 - > 00:03:46,310 Ralph Owens: Right, right, 77 00:03:46,310 - > 00:03:46,870 Ja'Quan Lavender: right, right. 78 00:03:46,870 - > 00:03:49,590 Terry Baylor: Because they haven't been guarding, right? So 79 00:03:49,670 - > 00:03:52,550 when I really dug into that, it really talks about building like 80 00:03:52,550 - > 00:03:57,430 a hedge, like a moat, right? So it's gonna take some real work 81 00:03:57,625 - > 00:04:03,145 in order to get in, right? So yeah man, we guard what we allow 82 00:04:03,145 - > 00:04:07,305 ourselves to think on, guard what we allow ourselves to see, 83 00:04:07,305 - > 00:04:11,305 you know, the conversations, all the things that JaQuan's talking 84 00:04:11,305 - > 00:04:12,185 about. So I love it. 85 00:04:12,380 - > 00:04:13,180 I love it. I 86 00:04:13,180 - > 00:04:15,660 Ralph Owens: love it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It makes me think 87 00:04:15,660 - > 00:04:19,740 about the fact that we've seen brilliant people make terrible 88 00:04:19,740 - > 00:04:24,300 decisions. We see it all the time in athletics. People who 89 00:04:24,300 - > 00:04:28,685 have incredible talent you know, make some of the craziest 90 00:04:28,685 - > 00:04:30,205 decisions, especially under pressure. 91 00:04:30,205 - > 00:04:33,005 You know, what does prudent decision making look like in 92 00:04:33,005 - > 00:04:35,885 high stakes moments, right, when the pressure is really, really 93 00:04:35,885 - > 00:04:37,565 on? You know, talk about that a little bit. 94 00:04:37,565 - > 00:04:39,965 Ja'Quan Lavender: I always say that pressure reveals a man's 95 00:04:39,965 - > 00:04:44,670 true character. So the first thing a pretty man should do is 96 00:04:44,830 - > 00:04:49,390 have emotional self control, emotional intelligence. Do I let 97 00:04:49,390 - > 00:04:54,125 this time take me out of my character? Do I let this time 98 00:04:54,125 - > 00:04:56,765 take me out of my emotions because of the heat of the 99 00:04:56,765 - > 00:05:01,885 pressure? We learned that once we go through the fire, the 100 00:05:01,885 - > 00:05:04,525 refining process, we're come out like gold, right? 101 00:05:04,525 - > 00:05:07,500 So we just go through the pressure, we go through it, and 102 00:05:07,500 - > 00:05:12,220 we smile through it, you know? More hurt, but we learn how to 103 00:05:12,220 - > 00:05:13,660 accept it and keep moving forward. 104 00:05:13,660 - > 00:05:15,580 Ralph Owens: It reminds me of the point of your story where 105 00:05:15,580 - > 00:05:18,380 you talked about how the coach, you know, was ragging on you, 106 00:05:18,380 - > 00:05:22,265 and you just had to smile and keep it under control, right, so 107 00:05:22,265 - > 00:05:25,225 that you can continue to move forward. Because we've learned 108 00:05:25,225 - > 00:05:29,785 that in those moments, it either gives you your greatest advances 109 00:05:29,785 - > 00:05:32,460 forward or your greatest regressions back. Cause you 110 00:05:32,460 - > 00:05:34,380 could have took a whole different attitude. You could 111 00:05:34,380 - > 00:05:37,020 have flipped the table, throw the chairs around. I ain't 112 00:05:37,020 - > 00:05:38,860 taking this, you know, all this other kind of stuff. 113 00:05:38,860 - > 00:05:41,180 But what how would that have been impacted your story? 114 00:05:41,180 - > 00:05:42,940 Ja'Quan Lavender: Probably when he even went to Tiffin, because 115 00:05:42,940 - > 00:05:45,660 they may have called him for a report on me saying, how is he 116 00:05:45,660 - > 00:05:47,820 as a young man? That's the first thing he would have thought of. 117 00:05:48,195 - > 00:05:51,235 He flipping tables, you know, he's not who he say he is. I'm 118 00:05:51,235 - > 00:05:54,835 not for sure he told y'all, but I see the real him, you know, 119 00:05:54,835 - > 00:05:55,315 so. 120 00:05:55,875 - > 00:05:57,635 Ralph Owens: Wow. That's Yeah. 121 00:05:58,035 - > 00:06:01,730 Terry Baylor: Had a conversation with my wife about a situation, 122 00:06:01,810 - > 00:06:04,610 and and she, you know, brought something up. And I thought, 123 00:06:04,610 - > 00:06:08,770 man, this is what a what a great what a great thing to share. And 124 00:06:08,770 - > 00:06:12,850 she said, you know, the situation that you're going 125 00:06:12,850 - > 00:06:16,455 through may have nothing to do with your destiny, but your 126 00:06:16,455 - > 00:06:20,055 response to that situation has everything to do with your 127 00:06:20,055 - > 00:06:21,495 destiny. That's good. 128 00:06:21,655 - > 00:06:23,575 Ralph Owens: Wow. That's good. That's really good. 129 00:06:23,575 - > 00:06:25,415 Terry Baylor: I said, I told her, I said, baby, you gotta 130 00:06:25,415 - > 00:06:29,655 segment Shamikaisms. I said, that is I said, Hollywood. I 131 00:06:29,655 - > 00:06:32,750 said, let me said, let me chew on that. Hold on wait. So you're 132 00:06:32,750 - > 00:06:35,790 saying the thing that I'm experiencing right now, 133 00:06:35,790 - > 00:06:37,790 somebody's causing me some heartache. 134 00:06:37,790 - > 00:06:42,190 Right? I got a client that may not be paying on time, whatever. 135 00:06:42,190 - > 00:06:45,955 But how I decide to deal with that situation 136 00:06:46,195 - > 00:06:46,515 Ja'Quan Lavender: Mhmm. 137 00:06:46,515 - > 00:06:50,755 Terry Baylor: Has everything to do with my destiny because it's 138 00:06:50,755 - > 00:06:52,915 about your decision making. Mhmm. 139 00:06:52,915 - > 00:06:53,155 Ja'Quan Lavender: Right? 140 00:06:53,155 - > 00:06:55,155 Terry Baylor: Tie it right back into what you were saying, 141 00:06:55,155 - > 00:06:58,510 JaQuan, is, and Ralph and I say this all the time, you know, 142 00:06:58,510 - > 00:07:00,110 pressure will bust a pipe. 143 00:07:00,350 - > 00:07:01,230 Ja'Quan Lavender: Yes. Mhmm. 144 00:07:01,790 - > 00:07:07,950 Terry Baylor: So so so how are you in those moments? Right? How 145 00:07:08,110 - > 00:07:11,745 what character? Who who want and this I gotta tie back to the 146 00:07:11,745 - > 00:07:15,265 original, you know, that that original I guess that origin 147 00:07:15,265 - > 00:07:20,625 story about being in in the semifinals in state. Right? 148 00:07:21,505 - > 00:07:26,950 That revealed a portion of who you are at a young age. Right? I 149 00:07:26,950 - > 00:07:31,910 mean, you're what, 17, 18 years old to make the decision to 150 00:07:31,910 - > 00:07:32,870 finish. 151 00:07:32,870 - > 00:07:37,270 Ja'Quan Lavender: No one never taught me these qualities. It 152 00:07:37,270 - > 00:07:41,995 was just more just learning as I'm going. So when I got to that 153 00:07:41,995 - > 00:07:45,195 point, it was in me, but I didn't know the word 154 00:07:45,195 - > 00:07:48,395 perseverance. I didn't know the word, you know, integrity and 155 00:07:48,395 - > 00:07:50,235 character. I may have heard of it, but I didn't know the true 156 00:07:50,235 - > 00:07:50,955 definition. 157 00:07:51,035 - > 00:07:54,475 But I just I knew grit because coming from Steubenville, you 158 00:07:54,475 - > 00:07:58,350 knew that you gotta fight. You gotta fight for position. So we 159 00:07:58,350 - > 00:08:01,710 knew how to get up and fight and keep moving. So that was that's 160 00:08:01,710 - > 00:08:04,430 why I'm saying that that dog, when you from Stoneville, they 161 00:08:04,430 - > 00:08:07,550 gonna pick that in you at an early age. Like, you're gonna 162 00:08:07,550 - > 00:08:09,550 you're gonna be a strong athlete for sure. 163 00:08:09,550 - > 00:08:11,195 Yeah. That's awesome. 164 00:08:11,195 - > 00:08:12,635 Ralph Owens: That's awesome. No, that's great. 165 00:08:12,635 - > 00:08:13,595 Ja'Quan Lavender: That is great. 166 00:08:13,595 - > 00:08:16,155 Ralph Owens: Yeah. Your academy teaches young men prudent 167 00:08:16,155 - > 00:08:19,675 leadership before any formal leadership role. I think that's 168 00:08:19,675 - > 00:08:22,875 important, right, to talk about. Why does character come before 169 00:08:22,875 - > 00:08:23,275 the position? 170 00:08:23,400 - > 00:08:25,400 Ja'Quan Lavender: Cause character reveals the real you. 171 00:08:25,400 - > 00:08:28,920 So if anything that you say or do that comes from your heart, 172 00:08:29,960 - > 00:08:33,080 you know, I always talk about Solomon because it's based off 173 00:08:33,080 - > 00:08:36,965 of Proverbs. He said, as water reflects the face, so your the 174 00:08:36,965 - > 00:08:41,125 heart reveals the real man. So that's that's your character. 175 00:08:41,205 - > 00:08:41,525 Yeah. 176 00:08:41,525 - > 00:08:45,205 So if if your character isn't honorable, if your heart is full 177 00:08:45,205 - > 00:08:49,285 of mischief, greed, and you know, you wanna be a dictator, 178 00:08:49,285 - > 00:08:52,920 that's gonna be your actions. Yeah. Jesus said out of the 179 00:08:52,920 - > 00:08:55,800 abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Everything we do 180 00:08:55,800 - > 00:08:59,800 is a heart. I said it at the gala, I said that if you have 181 00:08:59,800 - > 00:09:02,360 any character defects, check your heart because you may have 182 00:09:02,360 - > 00:09:06,275 a heart defect, which means there must be something in your 183 00:09:06,275 - > 00:09:08,355 heart that you must not be aware of. 184 00:09:08,355 - > 00:09:10,515 It's a blind spot that you need to fix. 185 00:09:10,515 - > 00:09:12,515 Ralph Owens: That's good. That's good. And that's good for the 186 00:09:12,515 - > 00:09:13,395 art I'm sorry. Go ahead, 187 00:09:13,395 - > 00:09:16,130 Terry Baylor: take it. How do you take these lofty, like, I 188 00:09:16,130 - > 00:09:19,250 mean, know adults who are struggling with these concepts. 189 00:09:19,250 - > 00:09:26,450 How do you ball that down, right, for a junior high and 190 00:09:26,450 - > 00:09:27,170 high school 191 00:09:28,985 - > 00:09:32,505 Ja'Quan Lavender: person, right? How you make it applicable to 192 00:09:32,505 - > 00:09:36,185 where they are? How do you do that? Dude, but I don't. I still 193 00:09:36,185 - > 00:09:40,505 hit them with the level that an adult should be at because when 194 00:09:40,505 - > 00:09:44,790 I start to tone it down some, I'm taking it out of proportion. 195 00:09:44,950 - > 00:09:48,070 I need them to be at that standard of the prudent man 196 00:09:48,070 - > 00:09:50,470 because there's only one standard of prudent and that's 197 00:09:50,470 - > 00:09:54,845 excellence. So like everything we do gotta be excellent. So I'm 198 00:09:54,845 - > 00:09:57,805 a tone it down a little bit to meet them at their level, but as 199 00:09:57,805 - > 00:10:00,765 we go on, I'm a definitely hammer like, Hey man, we've been 200 00:10:00,765 - > 00:10:03,165 talking about this for six weeks, and you all know the 201 00:10:03,165 - > 00:10:06,285 standard right now, it ain't me, it's you. You just not 202 00:10:06,285 - > 00:10:06,605 listening. 203 00:10:07,770 - > 00:10:09,850 Terry Baylor: Got to Hey, hey, hey, don't step on the 204 00:10:09,850 - > 00:10:10,410 Ralph Owens: line 205 00:10:10,410 - > 00:10:11,130 Ja'Quan Lavender: Don't step 206 00:10:11,130 - > 00:10:16,570 Terry Baylor: unless you're on that line unless you're ready. 207 00:10:16,730 - > 00:10:20,385 Ralph Owens: That's good. That's so good. That is so good. 208 00:10:20,385 - > 00:10:20,945 Terry Baylor: I love it. 209 00:10:20,945 - > 00:10:21,345 Ralph Owens: That's so good. 210 00:10:21,345 - > 00:10:23,185 Terry Baylor: That's so good. Paul. I'm taking that one, bro. 211 00:10:23,185 - > 00:10:25,985 Ralph Owens: Don't you worry about it. That's good news. 212 00:10:25,985 - > 00:10:26,705 Don't step on 213 00:10:26,705 - > 00:10:28,705 Terry Baylor: this line unless you're ready to run the race. 214 00:10:28,705 - > 00:10:28,865 Ralph Owens: She's ready 215 00:10:28,865 - > 00:10:29,985 Ja'Quan Lavender: to run the race. 216 00:10:30,785 - > 00:10:33,585 Ralph Owens: Awesome. That's so That's so good. Hey, I wanna 217 00:10:33,585 - > 00:10:36,440 take a moment and ask you directly. If this podcast has 218 00:10:36,440 - > 00:10:39,480 helped you lead better, think clearer, or navigate a challenge 219 00:10:39,480 - > 00:10:42,920 at work, would you take sixty seconds and leave us a review on 220 00:10:42,920 - > 00:10:46,680 Apple Podcast? Your review is how more leaders find this show. 221 00:10:47,000 - > 00:10:50,280 It only cost you one minute, but it means everything to us and 222 00:10:50,280 - > 00:10:53,485 this mission. The link is in the show notes. Thank you in 223 00:10:53,485 - > 00:10:57,725 advance, and now let's get back to it. So what, JaQuan, talk to 224 00:10:57,725 - > 00:11:01,805 us, about a moment where you had to lead, prudently under 225 00:11:01,805 - > 00:11:04,605 pressure when, you know, the decision, you know, may have 226 00:11:04,605 - > 00:11:07,330 cost you something personally or professionally? 227 00:11:07,330 - > 00:11:11,010 Ja'Quan Lavender: When I first started, 2023, when I first got 228 00:11:11,010 - > 00:11:14,530 the partnership with Alaquipa High School, I wasn't used to 229 00:11:14,530 - > 00:11:18,210 teaching. I just came out of a sales director position. I was 230 00:11:18,210 - > 00:11:21,965 in corporate America for a little bit, And I go from sales 231 00:11:21,965 - > 00:11:26,285 director to a mentor now. I was like, I was battling my mind, 232 00:11:26,285 - > 00:11:29,565 like, am I really reaching these kids? Am I really speaking the 233 00:11:29,565 - > 00:11:29,965 truth? 234 00:11:29,965 - > 00:11:33,085 Yeah. I know prudent, but I still need to know more about 235 00:11:33,085 - > 00:11:37,330 the prudent man myself. So it was it was a battle, an internal 236 00:11:37,330 - > 00:11:40,450 battle. Sometimes I would be like, I have people teaching 237 00:11:40,450 - > 00:11:43,250 with me. I'm like, no, y'all go ahead and teach the session. 238 00:11:43,250 - > 00:11:47,105 Because in the inside Mhmm. I wasn't comfortable. Wasn't 239 00:11:47,105 - > 00:11:50,225 confident. Outside, may have walked confident, but in the 240 00:11:50,225 - > 00:11:53,505 inside, was like, I know a little bit, but I don't know too 241 00:11:53,505 - > 00:11:55,745 much to change this kid's life. Mhmm. 242 00:11:55,745 - > 00:11:57,825 Mhmm. But Mhmm. Yeah. No. Ahead. 243 00:11:57,825 - > 00:11:58,305 I'm sorry. 244 00:11:58,305 - > 00:12:00,930 Ralph Owens: Yeah. No. Dig dig a little bit more into what the 245 00:12:00,930 - > 00:12:04,290 whole program is about, how it works, how long it is, you know, 246 00:12:04,290 - > 00:12:05,810 who who's actually attending. 247 00:12:05,810 - > 00:12:08,770 Ja'Quan Lavender: So the Prudent Leadership Academy, so it's a 248 00:12:08,770 - > 00:12:13,490 program that runs from eight weeks to a year. Now it depends 249 00:12:13,490 - > 00:12:16,665 on what the school would like, what they see the kids need. I 250 00:12:16,665 - > 00:12:20,585 always suggest sixteen weeks or more because we really get to 251 00:12:20,585 - > 00:12:23,945 work with them. We get to take time and dig deep. So we go into 252 00:12:23,945 - > 00:12:25,705 schools throughout the day. 253 00:12:25,785 - > 00:12:29,100 We got sixth graders all the way up to twelfth grade, and we 254 00:12:29,100 - > 00:12:32,620 teach them different lessons. A prudent man is astute, prudent 255 00:12:32,620 - > 00:12:37,180 man is confident, a prudent man, you know, it's different topics 256 00:12:37,180 - > 00:12:40,300 every day about a prudent man. And we just really hammering on 257 00:12:40,300 - > 00:12:43,335 with that, you know, those topics and with the standard of 258 00:12:43,335 - > 00:12:44,215 the prudent man. 259 00:12:44,215 - > 00:12:44,615 Ralph Owens: Mhmm. 260 00:12:44,615 - > 00:12:47,335 Ja'Quan Lavender: And, you know, as time go on, we'll reward 261 00:12:47,335 - > 00:12:50,615 them, take them out, go out to eat, take them places. But at 262 00:12:50,615 - > 00:12:54,935 the recent gala, we always graduate the young man, the 263 00:12:54,935 - > 00:12:58,490 seniors. Anyone other that never graduates. But this year was 264 00:12:58,490 - > 00:13:00,570 different. We didn't have no seniors in the group. 265 00:13:00,570 - > 00:13:05,370 So I awarded the young man that spoke at the event with blazers. 266 00:13:05,370 - > 00:13:08,170 So they get the prudent man pass for the blazer. And that's just 267 00:13:08,170 - > 00:13:11,065 like, you know, the step of becoming a prudent man. 268 00:13:11,065 - > 00:13:11,865 Ralph Owens: Mhmm. Oh man, that's 269 00:13:11,865 - > 00:13:12,665 Terry Baylor: fantastic, I love it. 270 00:13:12,825 - > 00:13:16,185 Ralph Owens: That's fantastic. That absolutely changing lives. 271 00:13:16,185 - > 00:13:20,905 That's amazing, man. That is amazing. So prudent leadership, 272 00:13:20,905 - > 00:13:24,270 what's the one thing working professionals can do starting 273 00:13:24,270 - > 00:13:28,030 Monday morning to begin leading with more wisdom and less 274 00:13:28,030 - > 00:13:28,670 reaction? 275 00:13:28,670 - > 00:13:31,310 Ja'Quan Lavender: I would say self reflection. I would say, 276 00:13:31,310 - > 00:13:34,270 because I always teach them self reflection is key to be able to 277 00:13:34,270 - > 00:13:38,135 have self growth. If you're not reflecting daily, then how can 278 00:13:38,135 - > 00:13:41,175 you know if you if you have any blind spots or if you need to 279 00:13:41,175 - > 00:13:45,095 grow? Mhmm. So I'm a put myself in my shoes in order to answer 280 00:13:45,095 - > 00:13:45,655 your question. 281 00:13:45,655 - > 00:13:49,335 So every day when I come home, I reflect that I really leave it 282 00:13:49,870 - > 00:13:52,830 on that floor to teach these kids how to become a prudent 283 00:13:52,830 - > 00:13:53,230 man. 284 00:13:53,230 - > 00:13:53,390 Terry Baylor: Mhmm. 285 00:13:53,390 - > 00:13:56,350 Ja'Quan Lavender: If I say no, shame on me because I know the 286 00:13:56,350 - > 00:13:57,950 steps of becoming a prudent man. 287 00:13:57,950 - > 00:13:58,350 Ralph Owens: Mhmm. 288 00:13:58,350 - > 00:14:01,070 Ja'Quan Lavender: So I reflect. Now people may say you being a 289 00:14:01,070 - > 00:14:04,270 little too hard. It's not because if I'm in charge of 290 00:14:04,270 - > 00:14:08,365 changing 400 plus young man lives, I think I gotta be a 291 00:14:08,365 - > 00:14:11,645 little tad bit hard on myself because I need to help them to 292 00:14:11,645 - > 00:14:16,845 grow. So I'm reflecting because I need to check one, my heart. 293 00:14:17,005 - > 00:14:19,485 Is this something in me that I need to get out? 294 00:14:19,590 - > 00:14:22,310 Am I doing something wrong? I'm saying something wrong to these 295 00:14:22,310 - > 00:14:26,630 kids, then I can go back that Monday and be a better leader. 296 00:14:27,350 - > 00:14:28,150 Ralph Owens: That's good. 297 00:14:28,150 - > 00:14:30,710 Terry Baylor: No, I love that. I love that. So along that same 298 00:14:30,710 - > 00:14:33,750 line, JaQuan, there are two questions I ask myself every 299 00:14:33,750 - > 00:14:37,565 day. And it's about the self reflection, right? Because one 300 00:14:37,565 - > 00:14:41,405 of the persons I like to listen to is Miles Monroe, and he says 301 00:14:41,405 - > 00:14:44,125 the highest level of government is self government. 302 00:14:44,125 - > 00:14:48,060 It is the highest level. And so three questions I ask myself. 303 00:14:48,140 - > 00:14:53,580 Number one is, is success the journey or the destination? 304 00:14:53,580 - > 00:14:54,780 Ralph Owens: That's good. 305 00:14:54,780 - > 00:14:58,060 Terry Baylor: And so I've come up with the fact that it's the 306 00:14:58,060 - > 00:15:02,325 journey, right? Because once you get one medal or one client or 307 00:15:02,325 - > 00:15:07,125 whatever, you want another. The second question I ask myself is, 308 00:15:07,125 - > 00:15:10,725 what's the most important relationship I have today? Well, 309 00:15:10,725 - > 00:15:14,005 I've come up with, for me, the most important relationship I 310 00:15:14,005 - > 00:15:17,230 have is the one with myself, because I talk to that dude more 311 00:15:17,230 - > 00:15:20,110 than anybody. I spend more time with that dude more than 312 00:15:20,110 - > 00:15:20,350 anybody. 313 00:15:20,350 - > 00:15:26,430 I'm fighting him every day. And also, I'm loving him every day. 314 00:15:26,430 - > 00:15:29,230 And I think that's probably the biggest challenge that I've 315 00:15:29,230 - > 00:15:32,495 really had is, you know what? Because as high performers, 316 00:15:32,495 - > 00:15:36,415 right, like yourself, we tend to be we can be critical on 317 00:15:36,415 - > 00:15:41,375 ourselves because we are used to performing, especially athletes, 318 00:15:41,375 - > 00:15:42,975 right? We're always measuring. 319 00:15:42,975 - > 00:15:45,590 We're always doing the drill, we're always going through some 320 00:15:45,590 - > 00:15:49,190 mechanism to get, you know, we get this 1% better, one percent 321 00:15:49,190 - > 00:15:52,710 better. And so that grind sometimes can cause us to be a 322 00:15:52,710 - > 00:16:00,315 little critical. And then the last question I The last 323 00:16:00,315 - > 00:16:04,235 question I ask myself is, have I aligned my passion with my 324 00:16:04,235 - > 00:16:09,195 talents? Because there are a lot of things that I do well, but I 325 00:16:09,195 - > 00:16:12,970 wanna make sure, have I aligned my passion with my talent? And 326 00:16:12,970 - > 00:16:15,610 so again, that goes back to what you were saying about that self 327 00:16:15,610 - > 00:16:16,490 evaluation. 328 00:16:16,490 - > 00:16:22,090 I wanna look back. I wanna be able to measure, hey, am I using 329 00:16:22,090 - > 00:16:25,595 all the gifts and talents that God has given me to ultimately 330 00:16:25,595 - > 00:16:28,955 do what? Impact the world. So I love what you're saying, man. I 331 00:16:28,955 - > 00:16:29,515 love that. 332 00:16:29,515 - > 00:16:31,675 Ja'Quan Lavender: Well, you know who taught me about character? 333 00:16:31,675 - > 00:16:33,195 Who's that? Miles 334 00:16:33,995 - > 00:16:34,955 Terry Baylor: Oh, man, I love Miles 335 00:16:34,955 - > 00:16:35,115 Ralph Owens: Morogh. 336 00:16:35,115 - > 00:16:38,170 Ja'Quan Lavender: I listen to I got five books by him. I listen 337 00:16:38,170 - > 00:16:39,690 to Miles Morro every time. 338 00:16:39,690 - > 00:16:43,370 Terry Baylor: Wow. Yes. Yes. He is a winner. He is a winner, so 339 00:16:43,370 - > 00:16:45,050 we already rewrite there. 340 00:16:45,370 - > 00:16:46,170 Rewrite there. 341 00:16:46,410 - > 00:16:48,650 Ralph Owens: For all of our listeners, take some time to 342 00:16:48,650 - > 00:16:51,635 think about prudent leadership, and how we can apply that in our 343 00:16:51,635 - > 00:16:55,155 day to day lives as we deal with other individuals. This was 344 00:16:55,155 - > 00:16:58,515 fantastic, JaQuan. Thank you so much. That's a wrap on this 345 00:16:58,515 - > 00:17:01,795 episode of the Leadership Sovereignty Podcast. If today's 346 00:17:01,795 - > 00:17:05,120 conversation added value, I want you to do three things right 347 00:17:05,120 - > 00:17:05,520 now. 348 00:17:05,840 - > 00:17:09,440 Number one, subscribe so you never miss an episode. Number 349 00:17:09,440 - > 00:17:13,920 two, leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify. It 350 00:17:13,920 - > 00:17:16,880 only takes sixty seconds, but it really helps more leaders find 351 00:17:16,880 - > 00:17:19,875 the show. And number three, share this episode with someone 352 00:17:19,875 - > 00:17:23,075 who's on the rise in their career. Don't forget to connect 353 00:17:23,075 - > 00:17:26,835 with us on LinkedIn and visit leadershipsovereignty.com for 354 00:17:26,835 - > 00:17:29,315 show notes and the full episode back catalog. 355 00:17:30,070 - > 00:17:34,230 Until the next time, continue to lead boldly, lead with purpose, 356 00:17:34,310 - > 00:17:36,150 and walk in sovereignty. Take care.